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Is gout preventing you from living your life?
Are the pain and discomfort stopping you from doing a daily chore?
Are you looking for ways to alleviate the pain?
Then we have good news for you.
A recent study shows promising results in minimizing gout flare-ups with probiotics.
Read on to find out all about this.
Changes in certain genes can increase your risk for many chronic health conditions, including gout. Learn more:
Gout is a painful type of inflammatory arthritis.
It usually affects one joint at a time.
The big toe joint is mainly affected.
Gout can go through periods of increased severity, called flares, and then get better temporarily, called remission.
Repeated flares can cause gouty arthritis, a worsening form of arthritis.
Currently, there is no cure for gout.
However, the severity can be managed with self-care.
Gout flares can last for a few days to sometimes weeks.
Long periods of remission can then follow, lasting from months to years.
Some common symptoms of gout are:
Gout is caused due to hyperuricemia.
Hyperuricemia is when the body builds up and stores excess uric acid in monosodium urate crystals.
Men who suffer from obesity are more prone to develop gout.
If you suffer from hypertension, diabetes congestive heart failure, you are more likely to suffer from gout.
Compromised kidney function and using certain medications can make you prone to gout.
Eating a diet high in purines, such as sardines, tuna, and alcoholic beverages, can increase the risk of gout flares.
Purines are the compounds that the body breaks down to make uric acid.
Gout is a debilitating disease that affects almost 41 million people worldwide.
Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for gout.
However, a new study reports that a probiotic strain can lower the number of flares a patient experiences.
It can also reduce the need for more drug-related therapies.
Researchers worked with a bacteria called Ligilactobacilus salivarius.
They worked with different strains to understand the most suitable and found that L. salivarius CECT 30632 metabolized uric acid.
The researchers then conducted a clinical trial with 30 participants with a hyperuricemia history.
Some were given the strain of bacteria, while others received allopurinol, a drug used for gout management.
This study showed that those who received the bacterial strain experienced a reduced frequency of gout flares.
Also, they reported improved blood parameters, liver damage, and metabolic syndrome.
The study showed that probiotics positively affected people suffering from gout.
Finding safer drug alternatives is essential since gout patients also have other comorbidities, such as cardiovascular diseases.
Probiotics are a safe option for gout management.
However, more long-term studies are needed to understand the benefits of probiotics for gout management.
Probiotics are living microorganisms found in fermented foods.
They are usually beneficial for the human body and naturally live in the gastrointestinal tract and the intestine.
Probiotics help digestion and prevent yeast infections, eczema, and urinary tract infections.
Studies show that a bacteria called L. Salivarius can help ease gout symptoms.
These bacteria usually live in the gastrointestinal tract.
As of now, gout has no cure.
However, gout can be made manageable by making minor changes in diet and lifestyle.
Gout can be managed by making simple dietary and lifestyle changes.
Water is one of the best drinks to prevent a gout flare-up.
It is because water flushes out excess uric acid from the blood.
So increase your water intake if you suffer from gout.
Coffee and other caffeinated drinks can also help ease gout flares.
Walking on gout may help improve symptoms and ease pain.
Joint-friendly exercises like walking or swimming minimize the risk of injuries.
However, you should start slow and pay attention to how your body reacts to physical activity.
Gout is a debilitating form of arthritis affecting more than 41 million people worldwide.
It can cause inflamed joints and pain.
Gout attacks can occur suddenly and last for a few days to weeks.
There is no cure for gout as yet.
A new study shows that gout can be treated with probiotics.
A strain of bacteria called L. salivarius has shown promising results in improving gout symptoms.
If you are one of those individuals who always regain the lost weight after phases of intense dieting, then the Yo-Yo effect could be the culprit.
The Yo-Yo effect leads to unintentional weight gain after dieting and may prevent people from maintaining the lost weight.
A recent study reports brain-level changes during dieting, increasing hunger and appetite.
Keep reading to learn how to combat the Yo-Yo effect and tips to prevent weight regain after dieting.
Your genes may be one reason why you tend to regain weight after you lose it. Learn more:
Some people are just not able to maintain their weight after a period of intense dieting. The excess weight starts creeping up right after they stop the diet.
In a few months, they regain the weight they lost during dieting.
This is what researchers called the Yo-Yo effect.
If you also struggle with the Yo-Yo effect, there could be a scientific explanation behind this.
A 2023 article published by the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research suggests that the brain may increase hunger and appetite after dieting, leading to weight regain.
There can be several reasons why dieters regain weight after weight loss.
When the body loses fat and muscle, thanks to dieting, it goes into shock and tries to replenish the lost nutrition.
According to researchers, the body starts producing excess hunger-inducing hormones, which can increase appetite.
As a result, the person starts eating more after a period of the diet, gaining the lost weight quickly.
While losing weight through diet, people generally lose fat and muscle together.
After discontinuing the diet and starting to eat regular food, fat accumulates much faster than muscles.
The body encourages the person to eat more to build muscle. In this process, the person gains back weight after dieting.
Diet, stress, and mental health are related. A 2020 study reports that specific diets that lack macro and micronutrients can increase the risk of developing stress-related mental disorders.
Stress increases cortisol levels in the body.
Cortisol, in turn, increases appetite and leads to emotional eating or binge eating.
This could be another reason why people regain the weight.
Calorie-deficit diets bring down muscle mass.
Loss of muscle mass affects the metabolism rate. Metabolism is the process by which food is burnt for energy. A higher metabolism means your body digests food easily and quickly uses nutrients.
People with a low metabolism burn calories much slower, increasing their risk of putting on weight.
A 2015 study reports that a calorie-deficit feeding habit bought down the metabolism rate.
This can lead to weight regain.
Psychologist Kelly D. Brownell from Yale University coined the word Yo-Yo effect.
Yo-Yo effect is also called weight cycling.
This happens when people go through periods of intentional weight loss followed by unintentional weight regain.
This cycle may continue for long periods without the person being able to maintain the lost weight.
In fact, a 2014 study reports that 80% of people who lost weight after following a specific diet regained their weight within one year.
Scientists believe that a drastic diet affects the metabolism rate. This could be one reason people regain weight after losing body fat.
Following a calorie-restricted diet or fasting for longer periods may put the body in a ‘starvation mode.’
When the body goes into starvation mode, it focuses on preserving energy. As a result, the body may start burning calories slower than the average rate.
For instance, if your body needed 2100 calories to maintain your weight before the diet, after dieting, the body may need just 1800 calories to support itself.
As a result, after dieting, when you consume the same pre-diet calories of 2100, the excess calories remain unused, leading to weight gain.
A 2023 study published by the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research and Harvard Medical School discusses the role of the brain in causing the Yo-Yo effect.
This study put research mice on a diet and then analyzed their brain signals during and after the diet.
The study reported that after dieting, the communication in the brain of these mice changed significantly.
In the brain, the AgRP neurons in the hypothalamus region are responsible for giving out hunger signals.
While on a diet, these neurons started giving out stronger hunger signals to the brain.
As a result, during the diet and long afterward, the brain received stronger hunger signals.
According to this study, the AgRP neurons kept sending stronger hunger signals for a long time after the diet phase.
So, to combat the Yo-Yo effect, the researchers suggest combining dieting with drugs that suppress the brain's hunger signals.
This may prevent people from regaining the lost weight after dieting.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4205264/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4205264/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34043943/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26399868/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7468813/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23083917/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230324135218.htm
https://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-diet-yo-yo-diet-effect
Did you know that hemophilia is a rare genetic disorder that affects approximately 1 in 10,000 people worldwide? If you're a woman or assigned female at birth, you may not even know you're a carrier until you have a son with hemophilia, as it's passed down through the X chromosome. In this article, we'll explore the inheritance patterns of hemophilia and how you can determine if you're a carrier.
Hemophilia is a rare genetic disorder that affects the body's ability to form blood clots, which are necessary to stop bleeding after an injury.
People with hemophilia have a deficiency or dysfunction of specific proteins in their blood called clotting factors, which can cause prolonged bleeding and slow or incomplete healing.
Uncontrolled bleeding into the joints, muscles, brain, or other internal organs can result in serious complications.
Severe forms of hemophilia can result in spontaneous bleeding. However, milder conditions may not result in spontaneous bleeding and thus may be difficult to diagnose until surgery or a severe injury.
The two major types of hemophilia are:
Even though both types present with similar symptoms, they are caused by mutations in different genes.
Those with hemophilia have a deficiency of either factor VIII or factor IX, critical proteins required for blood clotting.
The F8 and F9 genes contain instructions to produce these two proteins.
Factor VIII and factor IX proteins work together to seal off blood vessels damaged during an injury to minimize blood loss.
Changes or variants in the F8 and F9 genes can result in the production of abnormal versions or insufficient levels of the coagulation proteins.
This can lead to problems in the blood clotting process and result in uncontrolled bleeding.
In severe hemophilia, the coagulation proteins are completely absent; in mild hemophilia, the activity of the proteins is reduced.
Acquired hemophilia is not a result of genetic variants. It occurs when the body’s immune system starts attacking factor VIII - an autoimmune disorder.
Hemophilia A and hemophilia B are inherited in an X-linked recessive pattern.
The F8 and F9 genes are located on the X chromosome, one of the sex chromosomes.
People assigned males at birth have one copy of the X chromosome and one copy of the Y chromosome.
Due to this, even one copy of the altered F8 or F9 gene can result in hemophilia in males.
People assigned females at birth have two copies of the X chromosome.
So even if they have one copy of the altered genes, the normal copies on the other X chromosome can compensate for the lowered activity.
Hence, in most cases (except for X-inactivation), they may not have hemophilia, even if they have a copy of the altered gene. Therefore they are “carriers” of hemophilia.
However, there’s a 50% chance they pass the altered gene copy to their offspring.
If the daughter receives it, she continues to be a carrier; if the son receives it, he will be affected by hemophilia.
Hemophilia is typically inherited from the mother.
Hemophilia-causing genes are located on the X chromosome, one of the two sex chromosomes.
If a female carrier has a son, there is a 50% chance that he will inherit the mutated gene and develop hemophilia and a 50% chance that he will inherit the normal gene and not have hemophilia.
If the female carrier has a daughter, there is a 50% chance that she will inherit the mutated gene and be a carrier and a 50% chance that she will inherit the normal gene and not be a carrier.
Conditions inherited in an X-linked recessive manner more commonly affect males than females since males only have on the X chromosome.
A daughter will get affected only when an affected father and a carrier mother each pass only the faulty gene copy to the daughter.
Being a carrier of hemophilia means that a person has a mutated hemophilia gene on one of their X chromosomes but not on the other.
As a result, carriers typically do not experience symptoms of hemophilia themselves.
However, they can pass the mutated gene on to their children.
Female carriers have a 50% chance of passing the mutated gene to each of their children, regardless of their gender.
Since they can pass either their normal X chromosome or their mutated X chromosome to their offspring.
It is important for carriers to be aware of their status, as they may have a higher risk of having a child with hemophilia.
Carriers can be identified through genetic testing, which can detect the presence of the hemophilia gene mutation in their DNA.
Genetic counseling may also be recommended for carriers and their families to help them understand the risks associated with hemophilia inheritance and to make informed decisions about family planning and medical management.
A genetic test analyzes a small sample of your blood or saliva to look for changes in the hemophilia genes.
Different types of genetic tests can be used to diagnose hemophilia carrier status.
One common method is called DNA sequencing. This involves reading the entire genetic code of the hemophilia genes to detect any mutations.
Genetic testing can be done before or during pregnancy to determine the risk of having a child with hemophilia.
For example, suppose a woman knows she is a carrier of the hemophilia gene mutation. In that case, she may choose to undergo prenatal testing during pregnancy to determine whether the developing fetus has inherited the mutated gene.
This information can help the parents make decisions about medical management and family planning.
Hemophilia is caused by gene mutations that provide instructions for making proteins necessary for blood clotting. They are located on the X chromosome. As a result, hemophilia is more commonly inherited by males than females since males have only one X chromosome. Females are usually carriers of hemophilia and can pass the mutated gene on to their children. Genetic testing is a reliable way to determine carrier status and can be done before or during pregnancy. This can help parents make decisions about medical management and family planning. It is often recommended that genetic testing be done in the context of genetic counseling to help individuals and families understand the implications of the results.
Imagine a single vitamin that not only benefits your skin and immune system but also has the potential to prevent blood clots and reduce your risk of heart attack or stroke. Is Vitamin E the ultimate multitasking nutrient, or is its blood-thinning reputation another myth? Let’s find out!
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble nutrient found in oils and fats. It is an essential nutrient for the body.
It is also an antioxidant that reverses free radical damage in the body.
Vitamin E is vital for normal vision. It is essential for maintaining fertility.
Vitamin E helps in the uptake of vitamin K by helping form red blood cells in the body.
Since vitamin E is an antioxidant, it protects the body from free radical damage.
Free radicals are released due to exposure to tobacco smoke or radiation.
They can cause severe problems like cancer and heart disease.
Vitamin E deficiency is rare in adults.
Healthy people rarely show any symptoms of deficiency.
However, when a diet contains low amounts of vitamin E, a person might start showing symptoms.
Symptoms
Some common symptoms of vitamin E deficiency include
Causes
Vitamin E deficiency is usually not caused by a diet low in vitamin E content.
It is usually caused by conditions where fat is not digested or absorbed properly.
Risk Factors
Vitamin E deficiency usually occurs in people suffering from a disease where fat is not metabolized properly.
Such diseases are Crohn’s disease, cystic fibrosis, and certain genetic disorders like ataxia.
Vitamin E deficiency can increase the risk of cancer and heart disease.
Vitamin E toxicity is usually rare.
Adults can continue to take excess vitamin E without any apparent harm.
But too much vitamin E can increase the risk of excess bleeding.
It is especially pronounced in people who already take a blood thinner like warfarin.
Studies show that people already taking blood thinners should avoid too much vitamin E.
Although it is unclear how much vitamin E can cause toxicity, it is recommended not to take more than 400 IU per day.
High doses of vitamin E, around 1500 IU daily, can cause adverse effects, such as blood thinning.
Getting all your vitamin E from your diet is a good idea rather than taking vitamin E supplements.
Vitamin E toxicity is usually a result of taking excessive supplements.
It is because too much vitamin E can reduce blood clotting.
It might increase the risk of bleeding and make a person prone to cardiovascular disease and heart attacks.
Other symptoms of vitamin E toxicity include
If high doses of vitamin E are taken for a long time, a person might suffer a hemorrhagic stroke.
Excess vitamin E can have blood thinning effects.
Besides interfering with vitamin K metabolism, it can also inhibit platelet aggregation.
Excess vitamin E can cause fatal bleeding and hemorrhagic stroke.
Excess vitamin E, when taken as supplements, can result in blood thinning.
However, little evidence proves that this vitamin can be used instead of a blood thinner.
When taken as a part of the diet, vitamin E does not cause blood thinning.
But when taken as supplements, they can act as blood thinners.
300mg or more of vitamin E daily can interfere with blood thinners like aspirin and warfarin.
When blood moves too slowly through the blood vessels, it can cause a disorder called deep vein thrombosis.
In this disorder, blood clots can break away and reach your lungs, where they can get stuck in a blood vessel.
Some research shows vitamin E can prevent deadly blood clots in people, not on any medication, but this claim needs to be backed by more studies.
The amount of vitamin E that your body need depends on your age.
Adults and pregnant women need around 15mg of vitamin E daily.
Breastfeeding women need 19mg of vitamin E.
People who cannot metabolize fat may need more than the standard recommended levels of vitamin E.
The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine prescribes no more than 1500 IU of vitamin E daily.
For people deficient in vitamin E, usually, a dose of 400 IU to 800 IU is prescribed by doctors.
You should always consult your doctor before starting any supplements.
Foods naturally rich in fat usually contain vitamin E.
In addition, certain fishes, fruits, and vegetables also contain vitamin E.
Some common foods that are rich in vitamin E are:
Vitamin E is an essential nutrient for the body.
It helps in metabolism and reduces oxidative stress.
However, excess vitamin E can act as a blood thinner.
It can cause fatal bleeding and interfere with other blood-thinning medications such as aspirin and warfarin.
It is essential to consult your doctor before starting any supplements as they might interfere with any preexisting health conditions.
Are you among the many people who think milk is the ultimate source of calcium? Think again. Broccoli might give the milk a run for its money regarding calcium content.
Let’s dive in and find out which comes on top.
Calcium is one of the essential minerals for your body. It is common knowledge that calcium is important for bone and teeth health. But calcium also plays many other vital roles in the body. Let’s have a look at some:
Calcium can be found in a variety of foods, including:
Getting enough calcium through food is essential for maintaining strong bones and overall health, and incorporating a variety of calcium-rich foods into your diet can help ensure you're meeting your daily need
Both milk and broccoli are good sources of calcium
However, milk contains 155% more calcium than broccoli!
From 100 grams of milk, we get 120 mg of calcium; from 100 grams of broccoli, we get only 47 mg of calcium.
Calcium is a mineral with many vital roles in human health. While dairy products make excellent sources of this mineral, many other food sources can help you meet your calcium needs - many of them are plant-based as well!
At Xcode Life, we are committed to providing you with accurate, reliable, and high-quality genetic reports. To maintain this standard of excellence, we continuously review and update our products and services.
We would like to inform our valued customers that we have temporarily suspended the sale of our Carrier Status and Pro Athlete Reports. This decision has been made to carry out a comprehensive technical review and quality check, ensuring that our reports meet the highest industry standards.
As part of our commitment to excellence, our expert team is currently conducting an in-depth analysis of the Carrier Status and Pro Athlete Reports. This review will include:
Please note that, during this period, the Carrier Status and Pro Athlete Reports will also be excluded from our mega and premium report packs. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and assure you that we are working diligently to bring back these reports as soon as possible.
We understand the importance of timely and accurate genetic information, which is why our team is working diligently to complete the review process. We expect the Carrier Status and Pro Athlete Reports to be back on sale and included in our combo report packs within the next few weeks.
In the meantime, our other genetic reports and services remain available for purchase. We encourage you to explore our extensive range of products designed to help you better understand your genetics and optimize your health.
To stay updated on the progress of our Carrier Status and Pro Athlete Reports review and be the first to know when they are available again, we invite you to sign up for our newsletter or follow us on social media. We will also be posting regular updates on our website.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to our customer support team via the chat option. We are always here to help.
Sincerely,
The Xcode Life Team
